Pros, Cons of New Track Aired in Maryland

• Email
• Print
• Tweet

Residents of Western Maryland jammed a ballroom Wednesday at their local Holiday Inn to speak their piece about a horse track proposed in rural Allegany County.

During a three-hour hearing before the Maryland Racing Commission, 38 residents from one end of the county to the other spoke about the proposed track. The final tally was 24 against, 14 for. That was closer than many had anticipated.

"I didn't think it went that badly," William Rickman Jr. said
afterward. "I thought more people would come out against it."

A Montgomery County developer and owner of the Delaware Park racetrack and slots emporium, Rickman and his father William Rickman Sr. have submitted one of the two applications for the license to build and operate the track.

Joe De Francis, president and CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club, has submitted the other bid. Majority stockholder of Pimlico and Laurel Park, De Francis submitted his in partnership with Rosecroft Raceway, the harness track in Prince George's County.

Although the applications propose tracks at opposite ends of the mountainous, sparsely populated county, they both call for brief thoroughbred and harness meets -- the Rickmans'' plan suggests 21 days; MJC Rosecroft's 20 days -- presumably in the summer, and simulcast wagering the rest of the year.

Attended by about 250 people, the hearing was the first public step toward what could result in the return of horse racing to Western Maryland.

The commission will hold another hearing on the matter in November or December, and then probably decide a month or two later whether or not to grant a license, its chairman John Franzone said.

Opposition revolved around environmental issues, objections to gambling and threats to the quality of life. Proponents focused on the economic impact of creating jobs and attracting tourists. They also recalled fond memories of attending races at the Cumberland fairgrounds, where horses ran seasonally from 1921 to 1958.

"We had one heckuva good time," John Ankeney, an 80-year-old resident of Cumberland, said of the old Fairgo track. "I miss it, and I'd like to have it back."

A cross-section of the business community favors construction of a horse track for economic-development reasons, said Bud Willetts, executive director of the Allegany County Chamber of Commerce. He said that he polled his 575 members on the question of a track in the county, and that 80 percent of the respondents liked the idea.

Still, the most passionate voices spoke in bitter opposition.

John N. Bambacus, mayor of Frostburg near the De Francis site, said his community of 9,000 residents already suffered from "major water supply and distribution problems...Do we want to provide water to homes with failing wells, or do we want to supply a racetrack?"

A majority of the speakers denounced gambling. John C. Sullivan, a retired lawyer from Frostburg, said it would result in the "demoralization of the town itself."

David A. Brigham, who lives in Little Orleans near the Rickman site, said a horse track threatens the quality of life. Brigham heads a group formed to fight the proposal called Citizens Against The Racecourse.

"This beautiful area of the state deserves to be protected, to be left as unspoiled as possible," Brigham said.

Candi Mann, who also lives in Little Orleans, was the youngest person to speak at the hearing. She is 14.

"I am representing the future generation of Little Orleans," she said. "You can't put a price on the beauty of this area. Don't take something away that took years to create and call it progress."

The prospect of a track in Western Maryland grew out of a rift between De Francis and Gov. Parris N. Glendening. After De Francis openly supported Glendening's opponent in the last election, the victorious Glendening said the state's thoroughbred industry (namely, De Francis) would benefit from competition.

In the fertile garden of state politics, that idea lost its meaning but found supporters in Western Maryland, a region starved for economic stimulation. Ironically, what began as an idea to punish De Francis could end up rewarding him with the license. The racing commission does not have to issue a license to either group. It could decide that a track in this part of the state is not economically feasible.

• Email
• Print
• Tweet